Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
John Constable, R.A.
Cottages by a pond (Well Walk, Hampstead)
Auction Closed
July 6, 10:38 AM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
John Constable, R.A.
East Bergholt, Suffolk 1776 - 1837 Hampstead
Cottages by a pond (Well Walk, Hampstead)
Pencil;
signed and inscribed verso: J. Constable. Well Walk. / Hampstead. augst. 18. 1827
189 by 147 mm
Hugh Constable, the artist's grandson,
by whom sold to Leggatt Brothers, October 1899,
whereupon acquired by the grandfather of the present owner
Dated 18 August 1827, this drawing was made in the same month that Constable acquired No. 6 Well Walk, Hampstead, a 'comfortable little house'1 that was to remain his home for the rest of his life.
The work appears to see the artist re-exploring, in a London context, the theme of the rural cottage, a subject in which he had first become interested as early as 1797, after he met the topographer and engraver John Thomas Smith.
This drawing has only recently come to light, having been held in the same family collection since the early 20th century. It would seem that it was last seen in public in 1899, shortly after the dealers, Leggatt Brothers, acquired it from the artist's grandson.
1. L. Parris and I. Fleming-Williams, Constable, London 1991, p. 32